Bestchem Toluene (Methyl Benzene) for Octane Improvement

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Bestchem Toluene is a pure hydrocarbon (C7H8). i.e. it contains only hydrogen and carbon atoms. It belongs to a particular category of hydrocarbons called aromatic hydrocarbons. Complete combustion of toluene yields CO2 and H2O. This fact ensures that the entire emission control system such as the catalyst and oxygen sensor of your car is unaffected. There are no metallic compounds (lead, magnesium etc), no nitro compounds and no oxygen atoms in Bestchem Toluene. It is made up of exactly the same ingredients as ordinary gasoline. In fact it is one of the main ingredients of gasoline.

Bestchem Toluene has a RON octane rating of 121 and a MON rating of 107, leading to a (R+M)/2 rating of 114. (R+M)/2 is how ordinary fuels are rated in the US. Note that Bestchem Toluene has a sensitivity rating of 121-107=14. This compares favourably with alcohols, which have sensitivities in the 20-30 range. The more sensitive a fuel is the more its performance degrades under load. Bestchem Toluene's low sensitivity means that it is an excellent fuel for a heavily loaded engine.

Bestchem Toluene is denser than ordinary gasoline (0.87 g/mL vs. 0.72-0.74) and contains more energy per unit volume. Thus combustion of Bestchem Toluene leads to more energy being liberated and thus more power generated. This is in contrast to oxygenated octane boosters like ethanol or MTBE, which contain less energy per unit volume compared to gasoline. The higher heating value of Bestchem Toluene also means that the exhaust gases contain more kinetic energy, which in turn means that there is more energy to drive turbocharger vanes. In practical terms this is experienced as a faster onset of turbo boost.

How much should I use per tank of gasoline?*

A 5% or 10% increase in the aromatic content of gas will most likely be well within the refining specifications of gasoline defined by ASTM D4814, which specifies an aromatic content of between 20% and 45%. What this means is that if the 92 octane gas that you started off with had an aromatic content of say 30% and you increased it by 10% to 40% you would still be left with a mix that meets the industry definition of gasoline.

Because Bestchem Toluene is such an effective anti-knock fuel it also means that it is more difficult to ignite at low temperatures. The Formula 1 cars that ran on 84% toluene needed to have hot radiator air diverted to heat its fuel tank to 70C to assist its vaporization.

Thus too strong a concentration of toluene will lead to poor cold start and running characteristics. It’s recommended that the concentration of toluene used not to exceed 30% or what the engine is capable of utilizing. i.e. Experiment with small increases in concentration until you can no longer detect an improvement.

Octane ratings can be very easily calculated by simple averaging

Bestchem Toluene has octane rating of 114. So use this formula to figure what octane you get when u mix Bestchem Toluene with gasoline: